Trade ponderings

[MusicMan]

1.  The Reds are rumored to be shopping Dunn.  Am I correct in assuming that he would be an absolute disaster in RF?

2.  Rangers are said to be shopping Gagne, perhaps to the Indians.  If you're the Astros, do you (a) wait for this deal to go down, as it both sets the market and increases value for your own bullpen arms, or (b) come in with another offer in hopes of an impact bat?

3.  How much would you give up for Miguel Cabrera?  Troy Patton plus?  Keep in mind that young Cabrera now appears to have eaten Carlos Lee.

4.  3b - do you (a) trade MoBerg to the Angels for the best return you can, and go with Lamb/Loretta, (b) trade for someone like Glaus (or Cabrera in #3), or (c) pray that MoBerg remembers how to swing the bat with authority, and assume that this is the biggest improvement the club could find?

[JimR]

1.  The Reds are rumored to be shopping Dunn.  Am I correct in assuming that he would be an absolute disaster in RF?

2.  Rangers are said to be shopping Gagne, perhaps to the Indians.  If you're the Astros, do you (a) wait for this deal to go down, as it both sets the market and increases value for your own bullpen arms, or (b) come in with another offer in hopes of an impact bat?

3.  How much would you give up for Miguel Cabrera?  Troy Patton plus?  Keep in mind that young Cabrera now appears to have eaten Carlos Lee.

4.  3b - do you (a) trade MoBerg to the Angels for the best return you can, and go with Lamb/Loretta, (b) trade for someone like Glaus (or Cabrera in #3), or (c) pray that MoBerg remembers how to swing the bat with authority, and assume that this is the biggest improvement the club could find?

why would we not want Dunn?

no to any trade involving Patton for Cabrera unless he is not a rental. i'm very confused about that. i will be surprised if Patton is traded for anyone.

what are the odds on Moberg remembering?

[Limey]

why would we not want Dunn?

Can he play 1B?

[JimR]

Can he play 1B?

yes

[MusicMan]

He's a poor and indifferent outfielder, and a few teams are now considering whether to try to acquire Dunn as a first baseman, though one scout warned, "He's terrible there. I wouldn't use him at first base."

The Link - it's Jon Heyman, so take your grain of salt.

Cabrera is not a rental - this was his first year of arbitration.

[JimR]

The Link - it's Jon Heyman, so take your grain of salt.

Cabrera is not a rental - this was his first year of arbitration.

man, how can anyone be "terrible" at first?

sounds like he's headed to DHville.

[MusicMan]

Beats me.  I never understood how a guy who was slated to start as UT's QB could have such a terrible arm.

(Insert Chris Simms joke here.)

[JimR]

Beats me.  I never understood how a guy who was slated to start as UT's QB could have such a terrible arm.

(Insert Chris Simms joke here.)

he wasn't. Brown had moved him to TE before spring training. that pushed him to baseball.

Simms had a great arm.

[MusicMan]

I didn't remember that about Dunn.  Makes sense in hindsight.

Chris still has a great arm.  What he lacked (or lacks?) is the ability to slow the game down enough to make quick decisions.  He reminds me a lot of Carr - great arm, good guy by all accounts, tough as nails, but ultimately not a great QB.

Edit: I labelled it a Chris Simms joke b/c he has become the unfortunate butt of all UT QB jokes.  If we want to discuss truly bad arms, let's go back to James Brown or Rick McIvor.

[Foghorn]

I didn't remember that about Dunn.  Makes sense in hindsight.

Chris still has a great arm.  What he lacked (or lacks?) is the ability to slow the game down enough to make quick decisions.  He reminds me a lot of Carr - great arm, good guy by all accounts, tough as nails, but ultimately not a great QB.

Wrong.

He lacks a spleen.


Bwwahahahahahahaha hahahahhaha.


I'll be here all week.

[MusicMan]

Wrong.

He lacks a spleen.

I think we have a spare one around here...

[JimR]

I didn't remember that about Dunn.  Makes sense in hindsight.

Chris still has a great arm.  What he lacked (or lacks?) is the ability to slow the game down enough to make quick decisions.  He reminds me a lot of Carr - great arm, good guy by all accounts, tough as nails, but ultimately not a great QB.

lots of people disagree re Simms. what he was, by all accounts as you say, was a great guy. the team picked him over Major and sent Mock in to tell MB that they were Chris' team. Simms should have redshirted and was willing to, but after Dunn left, they could not afford to do that.

[Limey]

man, how can anyone be "terrible" at first?

See Piazza, Mike.

[davek]

See Piazza, Mike.

See Stuart, Dick aka Dr. Strangeglove

[JimR]

See Stuart, Dick aka Dr. Strangeglove

who started for a WS champion. i'll take that.

[ThomasTx12]

4.  3b - do you (a) trade MoBerg to the Angels for the best return you can, and go with Lamb/Loretta, (b) trade for someone like Glaus (or Cabrera in #3)

Yes please. option b assuming we don't have to give up too good of a prospect for Glaus.

And if we can get Miguel Cabrera with Patton as the centerpiece of the deal, I do that in a heartbeat.

[davek]

who started for a WS champion. i'll take that.

WS teammate of Jim Umbricht, he of the retired Astros number, as a matter of fact...

He was still a poor fielder...

[Randy Watson]

I didn't remember that about Dunn.  Makes sense in hindsight.

Chris still has a great arm.  What he lacked (or lacks?) is the ability to slow the game down enough to make quick decisions.  He reminds me a lot of Carr - great arm, good guy by all accounts, tough as nails, but ultimately not a great QB.

Edit: I labelled it a Chris Simms joke b/c he has become the unfortunate butt of all UT QB jokes.  If we want to discuss truly bad arms, let's go back to James Brown or Rick McIvor.

McIvor had the strongest arm of any Longhorn QB I can remember.

[MusicMan]

McIvor had the strongest arm of any Longhorn QB I can remember.

I admit to being a youngun' at the time, but I remember McIvor as a pretty bad QB.

[drew corleone]

People always bash JB's arm, but I didn't think it was nearly as bad as some say. Now Peter Gardere... he wasn't exactly a fireballer..

[JimR]

I admit to being a youngun' at the time, but I remember McIvor as a pretty bad QB.

yep, but a rocket arm.

[VirtualBob]

who started for a WS champion. i'll take that.

Of course, they had *the* all-time gold glove at 2B, another gg in RF and very good defenders at 3B, SS & CF.  They could afford Stonefingers at 1B.

[gwat]

WS teammate of Jim Umbricht, he of the retired Astros number, as a matter of fact...

One of the first baseball cards I ever got, 1964 Jim Umbricht. He was already gone when it was printed. I had to ask my dad what
"passed away" meant. It was part of a statement on the back of the card.

[gwat]

Of course, they had *the* all-time gold glove at 2B, another gg in RF and very good defenders at 3B, SS & CF.  They could afford Stonefingers at 1B.

Those Pirates rocked.
Dick Stuart 1960.
.260 average, 23 HR, 83 RBI vs. 14 errors, .985 fielding pct. That's 2005 Jason Lane at the plate.
Totally the other side of the coin from "Good Field, No Hit".

[JimR]

Those Pirates rocked.
Dick Stuart 1960.
.260 average, 23 HR, 83 RBI vs. 14 errors, .985 fielding pct. That's 2005 Jason Lane at the plate.
Totally the other side of the coin from "Good Field, No Hit".

1960 Pirates were my team. i followed them every day in the box scores. the 7th game is my all-time favorite game. still is my all-time favorite and will be until the Astros win the WS.

[Andyzipp]

1960 Pirates were my team. i followed them every day in the box scores. the 7th game is my all-time favorite game. still is my all-time favorite and will be until the Astros win the WS.

My Dad is the exact same way.  Mainly because his LL team was the Pirates, but up until the Colt 45/Astros showed up, Pittsburgh was the team he followed.

[Houston]

"Yeah... I want to weigh in on the trade idea. Can't we trade Morgan Ensberg, Brad Ausmus, and Bob Bakowski -- or whatever his name is, for A-Rod and Pissada and get the Yankees to pay for part of A-Rod's salary? I'll hang up and listen."

[Uncle Charlie]

1960 Pirates were my team. i followed them every day in the box scores. the 7th game is my all-time favorite game. still is my all-time favorite and will be until the Astros win the WS.

My grandfather was at that game.  I have his ticket and scored program framed, along with a team signed ball and another ball signed by Maz.  The team trainer lived on my dad's street groing up and about mid-year got balls for all the kids on the street.  Most of the kids used the balls for playing catch, but my dad put his away.  It's nice to take a look at that everynight.  #21 was one of the best to ever play the game in my opinion.

[JimR]

My Dad is the exact same way.  Mainly because his LL team was the Pirates, but up until the Colt 45/Astros showed up, Pittsburgh was the team he followed.

i was a Brooklyn Dodgers fan originally, but when they went to LA, they jilted me. i started following the Pirates as "my" team in 1959, primarily because of Face's 18-1 season. by ST 1960, i was hooked and started my day with intense review of the story and box score. occasionally, the Pirates would be on Mutual's Game of the Day on radio or on TV, but most of my being a Pirates fan was through the newspapers. what a team! what a season! what a WS! What a Game 7!

whenever i could choose the name/cap of the kids' teams i coached, we were the Pirates. Mark and i have 5 years of Pirates caps somewhere. we always got a Pirates cap for my Dad, and he went to Heaven wearing one. i often wondered what folks at his funeral thought about that, but it was normal to us. he was my best pitching coach ever and was a big fan of Mark's progress in baseball. my one regret is that he did not live to see the 97 Knights.

when the Colt .45s entered the NL in 1962, i switched my allegiance to Houston, and the rest, as they say, is history.